Refrigerating apparatus



l March 6, 1934.

R. R. CANDOR El' AL REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 31. 1930 *k 43 Q J7 /5 3 my@ 3 36 ,hwk

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' Y' Mw@ ATTORNEYS s f, .PatentedMan y(i, 1934 i PATENT ori-ics 1,949,676 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Robert R.. Candor and Duward C. Staley, Dayton,

U'Ohio,v assigliors to Frigidaire Corporation, Dayton,4 Ohio, a corporationof Delaware' `Application October 31,

` t 1s claims.

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to coolingjunits for household refrigerator' cabinets.,y y

Household refrigerator cabinets are ordinarily j provided with a freezing chamberfor freezing ice cubes. In order to freeze the ice cubes rapidly,"

a comparatively cold temperature is necessary. However, for cooling food stuffs and vegetables which are ordinarily stored within refrigerator 11g cabinets such comparatively vcold temperature is undesirable. Consequently. one of `the objects of the invention is to provide "an improved cooling. unit wherein an extremely cold 'temperature is f obtained within the freezing ychamber and a comu' paratively higher temperatureis obtained within f the food storage compartment of the refrigerator. Another object of 'the invention is to regulate the temperature of the freezing chamber andthe Y food storage compartment independently. of each other. f

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved cooling unit having anaddition- :alreservoir for preventing fluctuation of vthe level of liquid refrigerant within the iioat chamber.

invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference l being had to the accompanyingl drawing, wherein a' preferred form of the present invention isL clearly. shown.r

30 In the drawingz'y y l y f Fig. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the improved cooling unit together with a diagrammatic representation of the remaining elements of arefrigerating system; l

Fig.y 2 is a sectionalview of another embodiment of the improved cooling unit shown'installed within the refrigerator cabinet; and l i Fig. 3` is a fragmentary sectional view off'another kembodiment of the cooling unit;

A Referring' tothe dr awing,"there is shown diagrammatically for illustrative purposes a refrigerating system' "of ythe compressor#eendenser-ei:-` pander type including 'a compres`sor21(forl compressing 'therefrigerant preferably sulphur-dioxide,1and for forwarding it tofthe condenser22 s 23. A supply conduit 26 supplies liquid refrigerf ant to thefloat chamber 30y of` the evaporator or coolingunit 27'where'the liquid vrefrigerant val ,50 porizes because of the `absorption of heat and' is returned,v to vthe compressor through .the return conduit 28. The vactuating `means fory the comf pressor comprises a motor 24 connected by pulley and belt means 25 to the compressor. `Al pressure 55' responsive swtch'means 29 is preferably con- Further robjectsand advantages of the presentA f where it is'liquefled and collected in the *receiver 1930, Serial No. 492,432

(o1. sz-si nected to the return conduit 28 for controlling the motor 24 to provide alternating operating andk idleperiods of the compressor accordingto' the pressure and consequently theitemperature of the evaporator. go

The cooling unitshown in Fig. 1 is positioned within the upper corner of the food storage coxnpartment 31 of a refrigerator cabinet 32 of which only a portion is shown. The cooling unit 27 has a supply reservoir or float chamber cono5 taining a iioatball 33 for regulating the level 34 of liquid refrigerant within the float chamber byk controllingthe supply of liquid refrigerant entering the float chamber from theV supply conduit 26.

The freezing compartment 35'is positioned below 'mKA partment isV provided with an inner wall 41 and 15 and outer wall 42 between which liquid refrigerant is maintained. The liquid refrigerant is supplied to this space between the walls from the float chamber through the conduit 43. The temperature` within the supply reservoir or float sg chamber and the freezing compartment is controlled bythe control mechanism 29.

The food storage compartment 31 is cooled by a vertical plate type cooling member 45 which is provided with a pair of spaced plates kfor contain#v g5 l.

ing liquid refrigerant. A conduit 46 for liquid refrigerant connects' into the bottom'of the plate type cooling member 45 and extends horizontally and then upwardlyv` around the freezing chamber and finally enters the bottom of the reservoir 47'positioned adjacent the floatchamber.' rThe top of the reservoir is connected to the top ofthe float chamber by conduit 48 for allowing the escaperof gaseous refrigerant from the reser- Voir. tion in the level of liquid refrigerant in the lfloat chamber which would otherwise occur.V Liquid Vrefrigerant is'supplied to the cooling member 45 through .a conduit 50 connecting the lower portion of the float chamber 30 below the liquid 100,.

level anda valve 5l, preferably of thesnap-acting type, which controls 'the flow of refrigerant down the conduit 52 which connects into the lower` portion ofthe conduit 46.

According to the present inventionfthermoloo.

static means are Vprovided for varying the level of liquid refrigerant within thecooling member 45. To this end a conduit 53 extends upwardly from the cooling member and connects into theV bottom'of a valve 54, preferably of thesnap.l um;

The use of the reservoir prevents kuctuaf g5 "amount `of cooling which eventually brings the IIb actingtype, "which controls the escape of va.- porized refrigerant from the cooling member. A conduit is provided for returning the vaporized refrigerant to the float chamber. The valves 51 and 54 are opened and closed by a thermostatic bulb 56 positioned within the food storage compartment 31 of the refrigerator. The thermostatic bulb which contains a selected volatile fluid which vaporizes or boils at the selected refrigerating temperature, is connected by a fluid conduit 57 to the bellows 58 and 59 which are enclosed within the valve chamber of each of the valves 54 and 51. Means of any suitable type are provided for adjusting the bellows 58 and 59 and the valves 51 and 54to operate at any desired temperature within a limited range. In practice the valve 51 is set to operate at a slight- 1y higher temperature than the valve 54 sothat the valve 51 always opens last and closes first. The float chamber 30, the freezing chamber, the valves 51.and 54, reservoir 47 and connecting conduits are surrounded` by insulation and positioned within the casing 60 which encloses the insulation which may be granulated cork or other suitable material. The casing 60 is preferably MJfastened within an upper corner of the food *volatile fluid within the thermostatic bulb 56 will expand the bellows 58and 59 within the valve chambers of the snap-acting valves 51 and 54 to open first the valve 54 to allow gaseous re- Y frigerantto escape from the top of the cooling member 45 through conduit 53 past the valve 54 and through the conduit 55 into'the float chamber and then to open the valve 51 to allow liquid refrigerant Vto flow from the float chamber through the conduit 50 past valve 51 through conduits 52 and 46 into the coolingmember 45 to ll it with liquid refrigerant. With the cooling member 45 filled with liquid refrigerant, the increased amount of surface having contact with the liquid refrigerant provides an increased temperature below the selected point. When the food storage compartment 31 has become cooler than the desired temperature, the volatile fluid within the thermostatic bulb 56 will contract to myilose first the valve 51 and then the valve 54,

u"the cooling member 45 through the conduit 46 into the reservoir 47, as long as the valves 51 and 54 remain closed.v When the food storage compartment has warmed sufciently, `the valves 51 and 54 will again snap open in the same order as above described and liquid refrigerant will again be allowed to flow into the cooling member 45.

In Fig. 2 there is shown an embodiment of the invention which is somewhat simpler than in Fig. 1 but it does not have the advantage of providing separatepassages for gaseous and liquid refrigerant. l This embodiment is 'in the greater partsimilar to Fig. 1 and has a float chamber 7o with a freezing compartment 71 containing ice trays positioned belowhthe float chamber and conl nected to it. 'I'he reservoir 72 is positioned at one side of the float chamber and a snap-acting valve 73 enclosed by a casing 74 and operated by a bellows 75 is positioned at the other side of the float chamber 70. The float chamber 70, freezing chamber 71, reservoir 72 and the valve chamber 74 are all surrounded by insulation and enclosed by a metal casing 76 which is positioned within a corner of the food storage compartment 77 of the refrigerator cabinet. On the outside of the casing 76 there is a plate-like cooling member 78 adapted to contain refrigerant. A conduit 79 connects the portion of the float chamber 70 which is below the liquid level 8O and the upper part of the valve chamber 74 while the conduit 81 connects the bottom of the valve chamber 74 and at the top a cooling member 78.` Another conduit 82 connects the bottom of the cooling member 78 with the bottom of the reservoir 72, while another conduit 83 connects the topi of the reservoir 72 with the top of the float chamber` 70. A thermostatic bulb 84 is positioned within the food storage compartment 77 and is connected through a fluid conduit 85 to the bellows 75 to open and close the valve 73 in response to temperature within the food storage compartment 77.

In a manner somewhat similar to that described for the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the opening of the valve 73 will allow liquid refrigerant to flow into the cooling member 78 to cool the food storage compartment and this valve will also allow the gaseous refrigerant, formed by the evaporation of the liquid refrigerant, to escape. When the food storage compartment has been cooled sufliciently, the valve 73 will close andthe gaseous refrigerant which collects in the top of the cooling member 78 will force liquid refrigerant out of the cooling member 78 through the conduit 82 into the reservoir 72. It is apparent of course that conduit 82 must be connected to the cooling member 78 somewhere below the liquid level, preferably at the bottom, in order to accomplish this result. When the food storage compartment 77 has become warmer than the `desired temperature, the expansion of the volatiley fluid within the thermostatic bulb 84 will cause the valve 73 to open, which opening will allo-w some of the gaseous refrigerant to escape from the top of the cooling member 78 into the float chamber, -and will also allow some liquid refrigerant to flow from the float chamber to the cooling member. In this manner the level of liquid refrigerant within the cooling member 78 is thermostatically controlled.

to maintain the proper amount of liquid refrigerant within the cooling member 78 to keep the food storage compartment 77 at the temperature desired. Y

Themodiiication shown in Fig. 3 differs only from the modification in Fig. 2 in that it provides a pair of conduits connecting the float chamber and the valve chamber, the lower conduit 90 being connected into the float chamber below the liquid level for the purpose of carrying liquid re-` frigerant from the float chamber to the valve chamber, while the upward conduit v91 is connected above the liquid level on the float and means are provided for independently controlling the freezing chamber andi the cooling member so` as to regulate the temperatures `within .the freezing chamber and theffood storage compartmentk of they refrigerator independently of each other.k f While theform of embodiment of the, present invention as herein disclosed, constitutesa `preduits connecting thesupply, reservoir, the cooling member and the second reservoir, and a thermostatically controlled valve yinthe conduit connecting ,the supply yreservoir and ythe cooling Y member for -qcontrolling the accumulation of gaseous refrigerant `in they cooling member for varyingthe cooling action of the cooling member,

by forcing liquid refrigerant into .the second freservoir..r t .l l, l l

2. A cooling unitincluding a float chamber, a cooling member kand areservoir, all adapted to 'f ycontain liquid refrigerant, aconduit connecting the lower portion of the float chamberand the upper portion of theL cooling member, a conduit connecting the lower portion ofthe coolingmem- /berand 'the lower portion of the reservoir, a

conduit connecting' the upper .portion of the reservoir and the upperportionof the float chamberfand a yvalve in the first mentioned conduit.

3. 'Refrigerating apparatus including a refrigerator cabinet havingv a yfood storage com- ',said food storage compartment, said ,cooling,unit

partment therein, al cooling unit positioned within n includingy a `supply reservoir;a cooling member and ai second reservoir, means for rmaintaining,

liquid refrigerant ywithin the supply reservoir,

means for supplying liquid refrigerant to the coolingy member from the supply reservoir, means for insulating the supply reservoir and the second reservoir, andmeans responsiveto the temperature ,within the food kstorage, compartment for forcing liquid refrigerant'from the cooling membeiinto the second 'reservoir to vary the cooling action ofthe cooling-member,

4. Refrigeratingapparatus,including a refrigerator cabinet having a food storage compartment vtherein,a cooling unit within the food storage compartment, said cooling unit including a float 7 independentof the freezing chamber.

v5. `An `evaporator including a supply reservoir, a freezing chamber, `means for maintaining refrigerant in contact with vthe freezing chamber,

V,means for insulating the supply reservoir and thefreezing chamber, a box cooling member, supply means for supplyingliquid refrigerant to the box cooling member, a second reservoir for liquidrefrigerant, a conduit connecting the lower 'part of thebox coolingkmember with the second reservoir, and a, thermostatically controlled valve insaid supply means for controlling the levelV of liquid refrigerant in the box cooling member aecording to refrigerating requirements independ- `Leni: of the freezing chamber., l

apparatus including a refrig- 6. Refrigerating apparatus includingfa refrigerator Vcabinet having a food storage compartment therein, a reservoir for liquid refrigerant, a` second reservoir for liquidrefrigerant, a box cooling member positioned within the. foodstorage compartment and adapted tocontain liquid refrigerant, conduits connecting the first meny tioned reservoir, the box cooling member, and

thesecond reservoir, means for insulating'the first mentioned reservoir and the second reservoir fromthe food storage. compartment,` and means responsive tothe temperature Vwithin the food storage compartment for rregulating the level of liquid refrigerant within the box cooling mem- 7. Refrigerating erator cabinet having a food storage compartment therein, a reservoir for liquid refrigerant, a second'reservoir for liquid refrigerant, a box cooling member positioned within the food storage compartment and adapted to'contain liquid refrigerant, conduits connecting the first mentioned reservoir, the box cooling member, and

the second reservoir, and means for regulating the level of liquid refrigerant'in the box cooling member according to the temperature within the food storage compartment.

8. In a cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus,

the' combination of a cooling member adapted to contain liquid refrigerant, a supply reservoir adapted .to contain liquid refrigerant, a second reservoir, means for conducting refrigerant from I the supply reservoir to the cooling member, and means for forcing liquid refrigerant from the cooling member into the second reservoir for regulating the cooling action of the cooling member.

9..In a cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a cooling member adapted to contain liquid refrigerant, a supply reservoir adapted to contain liquidrefrigerant, a second reservoir, means for conducting refrigerant from the supply reservoir to the cooling member,

means for conducting refrigerantffrom the `(coolf ing member tothe second reservoir and from thel reservoir to the supply reservoir, and thermostatically controlled means for forcing lliquid refrigerant from the cooling member. into the second reservoir. f l f t 10. Refrigerating apparatus including a Scabinet containing a uid 4chamber to be cooled, a cooling member exposed within said chamber to be cooled, a supply reservoir for supplying liquid refrigerant to said cooling member, a second reservoir connected to said cooling member, said supply reservoir and said second reservoir being isolated from said chamber to be cooled, and thermostatic means for controlling the withdrawal of gaseous refrigerant from said cooling member to force liquid refrigerant from said cool` ing member to said second reservoir for varying the level of liquid refrigerant in said cooling member in accordance with the requirements.

11. A cooling unit including a freezing member containing liquid refrigerant, means for controlling the level of liquid refrigerant in said freezing member, an air cooling member below the level of liquid refrigerant in said freezing member, means for conducting liquid refrigerant to said air cooling member from said freezing member and for conducting gaseous refrigerant from said air cooling member, a reservoir having at least a portion located above the liquid level in the freezing member, conduit means for conducting liquid refrigerant from said mem,-

berlto said reservoir, and means automatically responsive to ,airtemperature conditionsfor .controlling the discharge of gaseous refrigerant from said cooling memberuto force liquid refrigerant into .the reservoir.`

12. A refrigerating apparatus f comprising means forming a freezing zone to be maintained below 32 F., means forming 4a cool .air `zone to be maintained above 32 F., ,an evaporator comprising a liquid refrigerant freezing poolthermally connected to said freezing zone, and a liquid refrigerant air cooling pool thermally connected to said cool air zone, a storage chamber connected .to said air cooling pool, a` refrigerant liquefy.- ing apparatus connected to said evaporator for supplying liquid refrigerant thereto and fonwithdrawing `liquid refrigerant therefrom, automatic means for regulating .the level of liquid refrigerant in said freezing pool,` automatic means for u controlling the refrigerant liquefying apparatus for` regulating theliquid temperature of said freezing zpool, andiautomatic means responsive toA temperatures within said rcool airhzone for transferring liquid refrigerant from said air coolling Vpool to `said storage chamber for regulating the liquidlevel and cooling effect of saidair cooling pool. f A

` k13. Acoolingunit including a flooded freezing chamber, `a cooling member, and` a reservoir all adapted to contain liquid refrigerant, a conduit connecting the fiooded freezing chamber and the cooling member, a conduit .connecting the cooling member and the reservoir, a conduit connecting the reservoir and the. flooded freezing cham-. ber, and a thermostatically controlled valve in,

the flrst mentioned conduit. y

14.` A cooling unit includinga flooded freezing chamber, a cooling member, and a reservoir all adapted to contain liquid refrigerant, a conduit Vconnecting the flooded freezing chamber and the cooling member, a conduit connecting the cooling member and the reservoir, `a conduit connecting the reservoir andthe flooded freezing chamber,

and a thermostatically controlled valve in the "first `mentioned conduit, said freezing chamber and said reservoir being insulated from said cooling member.

15. A mechanical refrigerator of the household type comprising walls .enclosing an ice-making compartment and a food storage compartment, an evaporator Vfor cooling said refriger ator, said evaporator having a portion in heat exchange relation with said ice-making compartment and a portion in heat exchange relation with said food storage compartment, and a valve for controlling the flow of refrigerant to and a second valve for controlling the evaporation of refrigerant from-that portion of said evaporator which is in heat exchange relation Withsaid food storage compartment, said valves being actuated in response to the temperature within said food storage compartment.

16. In a cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a cooling member adapted to contain liquid refrigerant, a supply reservoir adapted to contain liquid refrigerant, a second reservoir, means .for conducting refrigerant from the supply reservoir to the cooling member, and means for forcing liquid refrigerant from the cooling member into the second,` reservoir for regulating the cooling action of the cooling member Without affecting the `level of liquid refrigerant in said first named reservoir.

17. In a cooling unit for refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a cooling member member, and temperature responsive means for l forcing liquid refrigerant from the cooling meml berinto the second reservoir for regulating the cooling action of the cooling member without affecting the level ofliquid refrigerant in said first named reservoir.

18. In a cooling unit for refrigerating appara` tus, the combination of a cooling member adapt ed to contain liquid refrigerant, a supply reservoir adapted to contain lliquid refrigerant, a second reservoir, means for conducting refrigerant from the supply reservoir to the cooling member, means-for-forcing liquid refrigerant from the cooling member into the second reservoir for regulating the cooling action of the cooling member, and means for preventing pressure from building up in the second reservoir when liquid refrigerant is `forced into the second reservoir.

ROBERT R. CANDOR.` DUWARD C. STALEY.

ias 

